LEPIDOPTERA OF 'NEW YORK AND NEIGHBORING STATES 205 



The family as here characterized includes, besides the typical Coleo- 

 phora Hiibner, two other small European genera, Goniodoma Zeller and 

 Metriotes Hubner (Asychna Stainton). Of the exotic genera, which I 

 have not seen, two of Meyrick's (the Australian Carythangela and the 

 African Platybathra) should probably also be included. Venational 

 and genital characters, namely the obsolescence of the fork in Ib 

 (2d A) of fore wing, the stalking or fusing of 5 and 6 (M x and M 2 ) 

 in the hind wing, and the presence of both gnathos and a large func- 

 tioning uncus, exclude Batrachedra Stainton which is usually asso- 

 ciated witH Coleophora. 



In North America all our species belong to the genus Coleophora 

 Hubner, which may be defined as follows : 



1. COLEOPHORA Hubner 



Antennae %; porrected in repose. Labial palpi smooth or with slight tuft on 

 tinder side of second joint toward apex. Posterior tibiae rough haired above; ante- 

 rior spurs of hind tibiae from beyond middle. Fore wing with 7 and 8 (R 4 and R) 

 connate or stalked. Hind wing %; 6 to 8 veins; 3 (Cu^) rarely absent; 4 some- 

 times absent; crossvein between 5 and 6 (M t and M 2 ) nearly obsolete. 



Larva with head elongate ovoid, longer than wide; frons extending nearly to 

 incision of dorsal hind margin; anterior and lateral setae and punctures crowded 

 forward on head, nearly in a straight line approximate to ocelli; ultra-posterior 

 portion of epicranium large. Body setse much reduced; thoracic tubercles enlarged, 

 usually fusing on dorsum of meso- and metathorax to form secondary shields. 

 Crochets uniordinal, in a flattened ellipse opening inwardly, or in two transverse 

 bands; frequently reduced in number; sometimes altogether absent. 



Pupa incomplete; with appendages soldered together, but not to body, extending 

 nearly to or beyond caudal margin of body; caudal end of body with lateral exten- 

 sions ending in sharp spines; femora of prothoracic legs defined; maxillary palpi 

 absent; epicraniaL suture present; prothorax very short on meson, long on lateral 

 margin, forming a double triangle; abdomen not spined above; cremaster absent. 

 (This description probably applies to the entire family, but inasmuch as only 

 pupal representatives of Coleophora were seen, the description is given under the 

 genus. ) 



Coleophora is a very large genus, numbering between four and five hundred 

 described species, largely confined to the northern hemisphere, and reaching its 

 greatest development in middle and southern Europe and the United States. A 

 couple of species have been described from .South America, several from South 

 Africa and India, and a few from Eastern Asia. In the United States we have 

 some ninety odd described species, of which over half are found in the region 

 covered by this hand book. Several attempts have been made to divide this unwieldy 

 genus, but so far all have failed. The following table and arrangement of species, 

 while arbitrary, attempts to follow natural lines, as far as is consistent with con- 

 venience of identification, and to bring together related species. Group VIII 

 appears to be a natural one and on purely larval characters and habits should 

 have generic rank; but so far, no consistent adult characters have been found 

 to separate it from other Coleophora. The antennal character given (projecting 

 hair tufts on basal joint) holds for the described North American species; but 

 in Europe is also found on some species outside the free feeding group. 



For the student of Lepidoptera, this family offers a fascinating study. There 

 are still many new life histories to be worked out and many species yet to be 



